by Ian Forsythe There is a great deal of misconception about whether lenders (including banks, credit unions, and finance companies) are subject to the claims and defenses that a consumer has against a merchant when the lender provides the funds to finance a consumer transaction. This issue arises in a variety of situations involving the use of credit in consumer transactions, and this article will present the more common scenarios and discuss the various reasons why, in most cases, lenders are subject to the claims and defenses that a consumer has against the merchant.